If history is any indication, Andy Reid seems to value an elite Right Tackle just as much as an elite Left Tackle:

Eagles make OT Runyan highest-paid lineman ever

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Posted: Monday February 14, 2000 08:30 PM

Jon Runyan rejected a six-year deal from the Tennessee Titans. Ezra O. Shaw/Allsport
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The Philadelphia Eagles broke ground on a $25 million practice facility and signed a $30 million free agent Monday.

Jon Runyan, a 6-foot-7, 330-pound right tackle, became the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history when he signed a 6-year, $30 million deal. Runyan, 26, leaves the AFC Champion Tennessee Titans for an Eagles team that is coming off a 5-11 season.

"It was going to take something to get me out of Tennessee and here I am," Runyan said. "There's a great feeling around here. The team is moving in the right direction. They stepped up and made the decision easy on the business end."

Runyan, who arrived in Philadelphia late Saturday night, said all along his decision would come down to money. Runyan's agent, Ben Dogra, said Tennessee offered him a six-year deal in excess of the $27 million package Cleveland gave to free-agent tackle Orlando Brown last year. However, the Eagles' offer is significantly more front-end loaded.

"There was no bidding war," Dogra said, adding that the Eagles initial offer was lower than the Titans'. "Tennessee had an offer to make him the highest paid lineman. We asked them if they would move on their offer. They probably called our bluff, thinking they would be bidding against themselves."

Runyan received a $6 million signing bonus and will get an additional $3.5 million if he is on the roster Feb. 21. His base salary for the 2000 season is $500,000. Runyan will count $5 million against the salary cap this year. He will earn $3.5 million in 2001-03. His salary increases to $4.5 in 2004 and $5.5 million in 2005. A Pro Bowl clause could make the final year worth $6.5 million.

"He's the best right tackle in football, bar none," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "Everything starts with the offensive line. Having that philosophy, he is a key ingredient. He's a big part of this."

Runyan, a four-year veteran, played for three, 8-8 Titans teams prior to Tennessee's Super Bowl run this year. He believes there are similarities between his former team and his new team.

"I feel comfortable here," Runyan said. "They have a great, young quarterback [Donovan McNabb], a good running back [Duce Staley] and a solid defense. It's hard to turn down."

Runyan will team with 6-foot-7, 350-pound left tackle Tra Thomas to give the Eagles formidable bookend tackles. He helps solidify an offensive line unit that has not played well consistently since the early 1980s. The last offensive lineman to represent the Eagles in the Pro Bowl was Jerry Sisemore in 1982. Runyan also allows the Eagles to address other needs, namely wide receiver and defensive line, with the No. 6 pick in April's draft.

"This is obviously a position we feel secure at," Reid said. "Does it mean we won't take another lineman in the draft? No."

Runyan was scheduled to leave Philadelphia on Sunday. However, he decided to stay another day as a good faith gesture to prove he was serious about the Eagles. The team has been burned by free agents in the past who used their visit to Philadelphia as a bargaining tool. Dogra said he had not scheduled any other visits for Runyan though several teams are believed to have expressed interest.

Don't disagree with you at all on the Alex Smith decision and whether that is what was best for the franchise long term.

But it was the decision the Chiefs brass made, so going into the draft we had to play cards with the hand we had . . . .

I would have much rather kept the #34, signed a veteran stopgap familiar with the system for a couple years, while Reid groomed whatever young-QB-in-waiting to be ready to take over by 2015, if not 2014.

Then there's no point at all in discussing Geno Smith at any point in the draft, much less at 1.1. Because there was zero possibility that they were taking any QB with any pick on the first two days of this draft as soon as the trade for Alex Smith was made. And that's the reason it has never really been an issue of "Geno or Fisher". It's always been an issue of "Geno or Alex".

You really need to go back in the thread and read my posts from earlier.
I explained my position very clearly:

Summary:

This is, for all intents an purposes, a weak QB class. Most NFL scouts concur with that assessment. Most scouts also believe Bray has a ceiling as high as ANYONE in this draft. But, obviously, his floor is much lower. Which is why he went undrafted.

Therefore, since the goal is to get a high ceiling guy and for him to realize his potential; I would much rather the Chiefs sign a guy like Bray as an UDFA, then draft a guy like Geno, who offers roughly the same ceiling, and additionally costs you a high draft pick. Further, since the Chiefs don't have a second round pick, the only way they could have drafted Geno would have been to spend 1.1 on him. And, IMO (and many other NFL scouts opinions), that would have been a HUGE reach and not good value for the pick.

If Geno was still sitting there in the 4th round and the Chiefs wanted to pull the trigger on him then, I could have lived with that also. But he wasn't and they didn't.

That's about as succinctly as I can explain my position. Again, if you need additional clarification, read back through the thread . . . .

Your brokedick analysis appears to assume the following:

that Geno offers "roughly the same ceiling" as Bray [citation required];

that players either hit their ceiling or fall to the floor [citation required];and

all players have the same % chance of hitting their ceiling or falling to the floor.

The reason no team was even willing to spend even a 7 on Bray is that they all formed the view that there is barely a snowflake's shot in hell of him being productive in the NFL. All this "high ceiling" shit is down to him having a big arm and that's it. The QB is the most important position on the field. If there's a guy there in the 7th that has even a 5% chance of being better than the guys taken at 16 and 39, you take him.

Your explanation has been neither clear nor succint - it changes every 2nd post. The only point you've actually made is that you are glad the chiefs didn't spend the 1.1 on Smith. Which is useless really since if they had, he wouldn't have dropped, and we'd all be talking about how he wouldn't have made it past the jaguars at number 2.

that Geno offers "roughly the same ceiling" as Bray [citation required];

that players either hit their ceiling or fall to the floor [citation required];and

all players have the same % chance of hitting their ceiling or falling to the floor.

The reason no team was even willing to spend even a 7 on Bray is that they all formed the view that there is barely a snowflake's shot in hell of him being productive in the NFL. All this "high ceiling" shit is down to him having a big arm and that's it. The QB is the most important position on the field. If there's a guy there in the 7th that has even a 5% chance of being better than the guys taken at 16 and 39, you take him.

Your explanation has been neither clear nor succint - it changes every 2nd post. The only point you've actually made is that you are glad the chiefs didn't spend the 1.1 on Smith. Which is useless really since if they had, he wouldn't have dropped, and we'd all be talking about how he wouldn't have made it past the jaguars at number 2.